Bowlers Payne and Garton named in England T20 squad to face West Indies
England have named a 16-player squad for their T20 matches in West Indies next month, with Eoin Morgan leading a group containing 11 players who reached the T20 World Cup semi-final in November.
With Chris Silverwood on Ashes duty, Paul Collingwood will coach the team in the five-match series to be played in Barbados from 22-30 January. Marcus Trescothick, Collingwood’s former England batting partner, will join the squad as assistant coach.
There are two previously uncapped players in Gloucestershire’s David Payne and Sussex’s George Garton, both left-arm seamers. Garton was called up for England’s one-day squad to face India in the summer but did not play. Phil Salt, who made his England debut last summer in the ODI series with Pakistan, could also make his T20 bow.
Despite the absence of T20 regulars Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow and Dawid
Malan, all with the Ashes party in Australia, the squad still leans heavily on the players who lost to New Zealand in the World Cup semis in the UAE. The next T20 World Cup takes place in Australia in October next year, and Morgan has hinted it may be his last assignment as England’s white-ball captain.
“We have selected a strong squad with some serious batting power and a balanced attack as we begin preparations ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia,” said Collingwood. ‘The next World Cup is less than a year away and there will be increased opportunities for the squad in the absence of those players who are with the Ashes squad.
“I have good memories winning a World Cup in Barbados and I’m really looking forward to going back there with this squad to face a very good West Indies who will test all aspects of our skills.”
England T20 squad to face West Indies
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex – captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Sam Billings (Kent), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), George Garton (Sussex), Chris Jordan (Surrey), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Tymal Mills (Sussex), David Payne (Gloucestershire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Reece Topley (Surrey), James Vince (Hampshire).